A critique of a proposal put forward by the companies to base estimates of the rate of change of operating expenditure needs on an analysis of consumer price movements, instead of assumptions about input price and productivity trends.

A new analysis of productivity trends for sectors of the UK economy, taking account of capital substitution and using a dataset ending in 2004 (the work on productivity trends previously commissioned by Ofgem had relied on data ending in 1999).

Further advice was provided to Ofgem on a further consultancy report submitted by the gas distribution companies.